Overview[edit]
Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution provides that
the Congress has the power "To coin money".[13] Laws implementing this
power are currently codified at 31 U.S.C. § 5112. Section
5112 prescribes the forms in which the
United StatesUnited States dollars should be
issued.[14] These coins are both designated in Section 5112 as "legal
tender" in payment of debts.[14] The
Sacagawea dollarSacagawea dollar is one example
of the copper alloy dollar. The pure silver dollar is known as the
American Silver Eagle. Section 5112 also provides for the minting and
issuance of other coins, which have values ranging from one cent to
100 dollars.[14] These other coins are more fully described in Coins
of the
United StatesUnited States dollar.
The Constitution provides that "a regular Statement and Account of the
Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from
time to time".[15] That provision of the Constitution is made specific
by Section 331 of Title 31 of the
United StatesUnited States Code.[16] The sums of
money reported in the "Statements" are currently being expressed in
U.S. dollars (for example, see the 2009 Financial Report of the United
States Government).[17] The U.S. dollar may therefore be described as
the unit of account of the United States.
The word "dollar" is one of the words in the first paragraph of
Section 9 of Article I of the Constitution. There, "dollars" is a
reference to the Spanish milled dollar, a coin that had a monetary
value of 8 Spanish units of currency, or reales. In 1792 the U.S.
Congress passed a Coinage Act. Section 9 of that act authorized the
production of various coins, including "DOLLARS OR UNITS—each to be
of the value of a
Spanish milled dollarSpanish milled dollar as the same is now current,
and to contain three hundred and seventy-one grains and four sixteenth
parts of a grain of pure, or four hundred and sixteen grains of
standard silver". Section 20 of the act provided, "That the money of
account of the
United StatesUnited States shall be expressed in dollars, or
units... and that all accounts in the public offices and all
proceedings in the courts of the
United StatesUnited States shall be kept and had
in conformity to this regulation". In other words, this act designated
the
United StatesUnited States dollar as the unit of currency of the United States.
Unlike the Spanish milled dollar, the U.S. dollar is based upon a
decimal system of values. In addition to the dollar the coinage act
officially established monetary units of mill or one-thousandth of a
dollar (symbol ₥), cent or one-hundredth of a dollar (symbol ¢),
dime or one-tenth of a dollar, and eagle or ten dollars, with
prescribed weights and composition of gold, silver, or copper for
each. It was proposed in the mid-1800s that one hundred dollars be
known as a union, but no union coins were ever struck and only
patterns for the $50 half union exist. However, only cents are in
everyday use as divisions of the dollar; "dime" is used solely as the
name of the coin with the value of 10¢, while "eagle" and "mill" are
largely unknown to the general public, though mills are sometimes used
in matters of tax levies, and gasoline prices are usually in the form
of $X.XX9 per gallon, e.g., $3.599, more commonly written as
$3.59​9⁄10. When currently issued in circulating form,
denominations equal to or less than a dollar are emitted as U.S. coins
while denominations equal to or greater than a dollar are emitted as
Federal ReserveFederal Reserve notes (with the exception of gold, silver and platinum
coins valued up to $100 as legal tender, but worth far more as
bullion). Both one-dollar coins and notes are produced today, although
the note form is significantly more common. In the past, "paper money"
was occasionally issued in denominations less than a dollar
(fractional currency) and gold coins were issued for circulation up to
the value of $20 (known as the "double eagle", discontinued in the
1930s). The term eagle was used in the
Coinage Act of 1792Coinage Act of 1792 for the
denomination of ten dollars, and subsequently was used in naming gold
coins. Paper currency less than one dollar in denomination, known as
"fractional currency", was also sometimes pejoratively referred to as
"shinplasters". In 1854, James Guthrie, then Secretary of the
Treasury, proposed creating $100, $50 and $25 gold coins, which were
referred to as a "Union", "Half Union", and "Quarter Union",[18] thus
implying a denomination of 1 Union = $100.

Today, USD notes are made from cotton fiber paper, unlike most common
paper, which is made of wood fiber. U.S. coins are produced by the
United StatesUnited States Mint. U.S. dollar banknotes are printed by the Bureau of
Engraving and Printing and, since 1914, have been issued by the
Federal Reserve. The "large-sized notes" issued before 1928 measured
7.42 by 3.125 inches (188.5 by 79.4 mm); small-sized notes,
introduced that year, measure 6.14 by 2.61 by 0.0043 inches (155.96 by
66.29 by 0.11 mm). When the current, smaller sized U.S. currency
was introduced it was referred to as Philippine-sized currency because
the
PhilippinesPhilippines had previously adopted the same size for its legal
currency.
Etymology[edit]
Further information: Dollar
In the 16th century, Count
Hieronymus Schlick of
BohemiaBohemia began minting
coins known as Joachimstalers (from German thal, or nowadays usually
Tal, "valley", cognate with "dale" in English), named for Joachimstal,
the valley where the silver was mined (St. Joachim's Valley, now
Jáchymov; then part of the Kingdom of Bohemia, now part of the Czech
Republic).[19] Joachimstaler was later shortened to the German Taler,
a word that eventually found its way into Danish and Swedish as daler,
Norwegian as dalar and daler, Dutch as daler or daalder, Ethiopian as
ታላሪ (talari), Hungarian as tallér, Italian as tallero, and
English as dollar.[19] Alternatively, thaler is said to come from the
German coin
GuldengroschenGuldengroschen ("great guilder", being of silver but equal
in value to a gold guilder), minted from the silver from Joachimsthal.
The coins minted at Joachimsthal soon lent their name to other coins
of similar size and weight from other places. One such example, was a
Dutch coin depicting a lion, hence its Dutch name leeuwendaler (in
English: lion dollar).
The leeuwendaler was authorized to contain 427.16 grains of .75 fine
silver and passed locally for between 36 and 42 stuivers. It was
lighter than the large-denomination coins then in circulation, thus it
was more advantageous for a Dutch merchant to pay a foreign debt in
leeuwendalers and it became the coin of choice for foreign trade.
The leeuwendaler was popular in the
Dutch East IndiesDutch East Indies and in the Dutch
New NetherlandNew Netherland Colony (New York), and circulated throughout the
Thirteen ColoniesThirteen Colonies during the 17th and early 18th centuries. It was
also popular throughout Eastern Europe, where it led to the current
Romanian and Moldovan currency being called leu (literally "lion").
Among the English-speaking community, the coin came to be popularly
known as lion dollar – and is the origin of the name
dollar.[20] The modern American-English pronunciation of dollar is
still remarkably close to the 17th-century Dutch pronunciation of
daler.[21]
By analogy with this lion dollar, Spanish pesos – with the same
weight and shape as the lion dollar – came to be known as
Spanish dollars.[21] By the mid-18th century, the lion dollar had been
replaced by the Spanish dollar, the famous "piece of eight", which was
distributed widely in the Spanish colonies in the
New WorldNew World and in the
Philippines.[22] Eventually, dollar became the name of the first
official American currency.
Nicknames[edit]
See also: Slang terms for money § United States
The colloquialism "buck"(s) (much like the British word "quid"(s, pl)
for the pound sterling) is often used to refer to dollars of various
nations, including the U.S. dollar. This term, dating to the 18th
century, may have originated with the colonial leather trade. It may
also have originated from a poker term.[23] "Greenback" is another
nickname originally applied specifically to the 19th century Demand
Note dollars created by
Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln to finance the costs of the
Civil War for the North.[24] The original note was printed in black
and green on the back side. It is still used to refer to the U.S.
dollar (but not to the dollars of other countries). Other well-known
names of the dollar as a whole in denominations include "greenmail",
"green" and "dead presidents" (the last because deceased presidents
are pictured on most bills).
A "grand", sometimes shortened to simply "G", is a common term for the
amount of $1,000. The suffix "K" or "k" (from "kilo-") is also
commonly used to denote this amount (such as "$10k" to mean $10,000).
However, the $1,000 note is no longer in general use. A "large" or
"stack", it is usually a reference to a multiple of $1,000 (such as
"fifty large" meaning $50,000). The $100 note is nicknamed "Benjamin",
"Benji", "Ben", or "Franklin" (after Benjamin Franklin), "C-note" (C
being the
Roman numeralRoman numeral for 100), "Century note" or "bill" (e.g. "two
bills" being $200). The $50 note is occasionally called a "yardstick"
or a "grant" (after President Ulysses S. Grant, pictured on the
obverse). The $20 note is referred to as a "double sawbuck", "Jackson"
(after Andrew Jackson), or "double eagle". The $10 note is referred to
as a "sawbuck", "ten-spot" or "Hamilton" (after Alexander Hamilton).
The $5 note as "Lincoln", "fin", "fiver" or "five-spot". The
infrequently-used $2 note is sometimes called "deuce", "Tom", or
"Jefferson" (after Thomas Jefferson). The $1 note as a "single" or
"buck". The dollar has also been referred to as a "bone" and "bones"
in plural (e.g. "twenty bones" is equal to $20). The newer designs,
with portraits displayed in the main body of the obverse (rather than
in cameo insets), upon paper color-coded by denomination, are
sometimes referred to as "bigface" notes or "Monopoly money".
"Piastre" was the original French word for the U.S. dollar, used for
example in the French text of the
LouisianaLouisiana Purchase. Calling the
dollar a piastre is still common among the speakers of Cajun French
and
New EnglandNew England French. Modern French uses dollar for this unit of
currency as well. The term is still used as slang for U.S. dollars in
the French-speaking
CaribbeanCaribbean islands, most notably Haiti.
DollarDollar sign[edit]
Main article:
DollarDollar sign

Spanish silver real or peso of 1768

The symbol $, usually written before the numerical amount, is used for
the U.S. dollar (as well as for many other currencies). The sign was
the result of a late 18th-century evolution of the scribal
abbreviation "ps" for the peso, the common name for the Spanish
dollars that were in wide circulation in the
New WorldNew World from the 16th
to the 19th centuries. These Spanish pesos or dollars were minted in
Spanish America, namely in
MexicoMexico City; Potosí, Bolivia; and Lima,
Peru. The p and the s eventually came to be written over each other
giving rise to $.[25][26][27][28]
Another popular explanation is that it is derived from the Pillars of
Hercules on the Spanish Coat of arms of the Spanish dollar. These
Pillars of HerculesPillars of Hercules on the silver
Spanish dollarSpanish dollar coins take the form
of two vertical bars () and a swinging cloth band in the shape of an
"S".
Yet another explanation suggests that the dollar sign was formed from
the capital letters U and S written or printed one on top of the
other. This theory, popularized by novelist
Ayn RandAyn Rand in Atlas
Shrugged,[29] does not consider the fact that the symbol was already
in use before the formation of the United States.[30]
History[edit]
See also: History of the
United StatesUnited States dollar

The American dollar coin was initially based on the value and look of
the Spanish dollar, used widely in
Spanish AmericaSpanish America from the 16th to
the 19th centuries. The first dollar coins issued by the United States
Mint (founded 1792) were similar in size and composition to the
Spanish dollar, minted in
MexicoMexico and Peru. The Spanish, U.S. silver
dollars, and later, Mexican silver pesos circulated side by side in
the United States, and the
Spanish dollarSpanish dollar and
Mexican pesoMexican peso remained
legal tender until the Coinage Act of 1857. The coinage of various
English colonies also circulated. The lion dollar was popular in the
Dutch
New NetherlandNew Netherland Colony (New York), but the lion dollar also
circulated throughout the English colonies during the 17th century and
early 18th century. Examples circulating in the colonies were usually
worn so that the design was not fully distinguishable, thus they were
sometimes referred to as "dog dollars".[31]
The U.S. dollar was first defined by the Coinage Act of 1792, which
specified a "dollar" to be based in the
Spanish milled dollarSpanish milled dollar and of
371 grains and 4 sixteenths part of a grain of pure or 416 grains
(27.0 g) of standard silver and an "eagle" to be 247 and 4
eighths of a grain or 270 grains (17 g) of gold (again depending
on purity).[32] The choice of the value 371 grains arose from
Alexander Hamilton's decision to base the new American unit on the
average weight of a selection of worn Spanish dollars. Hamilton got
the treasury to weigh a sample of
Spanish dollarsSpanish dollars and the average
weight came out to be 371 grains. A new
Spanish dollarSpanish dollar was usually
about 377 grains in weight, and so the new U.S. dollar was at a slight
discount in relation to the Spanish dollar.
The same coinage act also set the value of an eagle at 10 dollars, and
the dollar at ​1⁄10 eagle. It called for 90% silver alloy coins in
denominations of 1, ​1⁄2, ​1⁄4, ​1⁄10, and ​1⁄20
dollars; it called for 90% gold alloy coins in denominations of 1,
​1⁄2, ​1⁄4, and ​1⁄10 eagles. The value of gold or silver
contained in the dollar was then converted into relative value in the
economy for the buying and selling of goods. This allowed the value of
things to remain fairly constant over time, except for the influx and
outflux of gold and silver in the nation's economy.[33]
The early currency of the
United StatesUnited States did not exhibit faces of
presidents, as is the custom now;[34] although today, by law, only the
portrait of a deceased individual may appear on United States
currency.[35] In fact, the newly formed government was against having
portraits of leaders on the currency, a practice compared to the
policies of European monarchs.[36] The currency as we know it today
did not get the faces they currently have until after the early 20th
century; before that "heads" side of coinage used profile faces and
striding, seated, and standing figures from Greek and Roman mythology
and composite Native Americans. The last coins to be converted to
profiles of historic
AmericansAmericans were the dime (1946) and the Dollar
(1971).
For articles on the currencies of the colonies and states, see
ConnecticutConnecticut pound,
DelawareDelaware pound, Georgia pound,
MarylandMaryland pound,
MassachusettsMassachusetts pound,
New HampshireNew Hampshire pound,
New JerseyNew Jersey pound, New York
pound,
North CarolinaNorth Carolina pound,
PennsylvaniaPennsylvania pound,
Rhode IslandRhode Island pound,
South CarolinaSouth Carolina pound, and
VirginiaVirginia pound.
Continental currency[edit]

See also: Continental currency
During the
American RevolutionAmerican Revolution the thirteen colonies became
independent states. Freed from British monetary regulations, they each
issued
£sd£sd paper money to pay for military expenses. The Continental
Congress also began issuing "Continental Currency" denominated in
Spanish dollars. The dollar was valued relative to the states'
currencies at the following rates:

Continental currencyContinental currency depreciated badly during the war, giving rise to
the famous phrase "not worth a continental".[37] A primary problem was
that monetary policy was not coordinated between Congress and the
states, which continued to issue bills of credit. Additionally,
neither Congress nor the governments of the several states had the
will or the means to retire the bills from circulation through
taxation or the sale of bonds.[38] The currency was ultimately
replaced by the silver dollar at the rate of 1 silver dollar to 1000
continental dollars.
Silver and gold standards[edit]
From 1792, when the
Mint ActMint Act was passed, the dollar was defined as
371.25 grains (24.056 g) of silver. The gold coins that were minted
were not given any denomination and traded for a market value relative
to the Congressional standard of the silver dollar. 1834 saw a shift
in the gold standard to 23.2 grains (1.50 g), followed by a
slight adjustment to 23.22 grains (1.505 g) in 1837 (16:1
ratio).[citation needed]
In 1862, paper money was issued without the backing of precious
metals, due to the Civil War. Silver and gold coins continued to be
issued and in 1878 the link between paper money and coins was
reinstated. This disconnection from gold and silver backing also
occurred during the War of 1812. The use of paper money not backed by
precious metals had also occurred under the Articles of Confederation
from 1777 to 1788. With no solid backing and being easily
counterfeited, the continentals quickly lost their value, giving rise
to the phrase "not worth a continental". This was a primary reason for
the "No state shall... make any thing but gold and silver coin a
tender in payment of debts" clause in article 1, section 10 of the
United StatesUnited States Constitution.
In order to finance the War of 1812, Congress authorized the issuance
of Treasury Notes, interest-bearing short-term debt that could be used
to pay public dues. While they were intended to serve as debt, they
did function "to a limited extent" as money. Treasury Notes were again
printed to help resolve the reduction in public revenues resulting
from the
Panic of 1837Panic of 1837 and the Panic of 1857, as well as to help
finance the
Mexican–American WarMexican–American War and the Civil War.
In addition to Treasury Notes, in 1861, Congress authorized the
Treasury to borrow $50 million in the form of Demand Notes, which did
not bear interest but could be redeemed on demand for precious metals.
However, by December 1861, the Union government's supply of specie was
outstripped by demand for redemption and they were forced to suspend
redemption temporarily. The following February, Congress passed the
Legal Tender Act of 1862, issuing
United StatesUnited States Notes, which were not
redeemable on demand and bore no interest, but were legal tender,
meaning that creditors had to accept them at face value for any
payment except for public debts and import tariffs. However, silver
and gold coins continued to be issued, resulting in the depreciation
of the newly printed notes through Gresham's Law. In 1869, Supreme
Court ruled in
Hepburn v. GriswoldHepburn v. Griswold that Congress could not require
creditors to accept
United StatesUnited States Notes, but overturned that ruling
the next year in the Legal Tender Cases. In 1875, Congress passed the
Specie Payment Resumption Act, requiring the Treasury to allow US
Notes to be redeemed for gold after January 1, 1879. The Treasury
ceased to issue
United StatesUnited States Notes in 1971.
The
Gold Standard ActGold Standard Act of 1900 abandoned the bimetallic standard and
defined the dollar as 23.22 grains (1.505 g) of gold, equivalent
to setting the price of 1 troy ounce of gold at $20.67. Silver coins
continued to be issued for circulation until 1964, when all silver was
removed from dimes and quarters, and the half dollar was reduced to
40% silver. Silver half dollars were last issued for circulation in
1970. Gold coins were confiscated by
Executive Order 6102Executive Order 6102 issued in
1933 by Franklin Roosevelt. The gold standard was changed to 13.71
grains (0.888 g), equivalent to setting the price of 1 troy ounce
of gold at $35. This standard persisted until 1968.
Between 1968 and 1975, a variety of pegs to gold were put in place,
eventually culminating in a sudden end, on August 15, 1971, to the
convertibility of dollars to gold later dubbed the Nixon Shock. The
last peg was $42.22 per ounce[citation needed] before the U.S. dollar
was allowed to freely float on currency markets.
According to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the largest note it
ever printed was the $100,000 Gold Certificate, Series 1934. These
notes were printed from December 18, 1934, through January 9, 1935,
and were issued by the Treasurer of the
United StatesUnited States to Federal
Reserve Banks only against an equal amount of gold bullion held by the
Treasury. These notes were used for transactions between Federal
Reserve Banks and were not circulated among the general public.
Coins[edit]
Main article: Coins of the
United StatesUnited States dollar
Official
United StatesUnited States coins have been produced every year from 1792
to the present.

American Eagles originally were not available from the Mint for
individuals but had to be purchased from authorized dealers. In 2006
The Mint began direct sales to individuals of uncirculated bullion
coins with a special finish, and bearing a "W" mintmark.

Technically, all these coins are still legal tender at face value,
though some are far more valuable today for their numismatic value,
and for gold and silver coins, their precious metal value. From 1965
to 1970 the
Kennedy half dollarKennedy half dollar was the only circulating coin with any
silver content, which was removed in 1971 and replaced with
cupronickel. However, since 1992, the
U.S. MintU.S. Mint has produced special
Silver Proof Sets in addition to the regular yearly proof sets with
silver dimes, quarters, and half dollars in place of the standard
copper-nickel versions. In addition, an experimental $4.00 (Stella)
coin was also minted in 1879, but never placed into circulation, and
is properly considered to be a pattern rather than an actual coin
denomination.
The $50 coin mentioned was only produced in 1915 for the
Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915)Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915) celebrating the opening
of the
PanamaPanama Canal. Only 1,128 were made, 645 of which were
octagonal; this remains the only U.S. coin that was not round as well
as the largest and heaviest U.S. coin ever produced.
A $100 gold coin was produced in High relief during 2015, although it
was primarily produced for collectors, not for general
circulation.[40]
From 1934 to present, the only denominations produced for circulation
have been the familiar penny, nickel, dime, quarter, half dollar and
dollar. The nickel is the only coin still in use today that is
essentially unchanged (except in its design) from its original
version. Every year since 1866, the nickel has been 75% copper and 25%
nickel, except for 4 years during
World War IIWorld War II when nickel was needed
for the war.
Due to the penny's low value, some efforts have been made to eliminate
the penny as circulating coinage.[41][42]
Collector coins[edit]
The
United StatesUnited States Mint produces Proof Sets specifically for collectors
and speculators. Silver Proofs tend to be the standard designs but
with the dime, quarter, and half dollar containing 90% silver.
Starting in 1983 and ending in 1997, the Mint also produced proof sets
containing the year's commemorative coins alongside the regular coins.
Another type of proof set is the Presidential
DollarDollar Proof Set where
four special $1 coins are minted each year featuring a president.
Because of budget constraints and increasing stockpiles of these
relatively unpopular coins, the production of new Presidential dollar
coins for circulation was suspended on December 13, 2011, by U.S.
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner. Future minting of such coins
will be made solely for collectors.[43]

DollarDollar coins[edit]
Main article: Coins of the
United StatesUnited States dollar
The first
United StatesUnited States dollar was minted in 1794. Known as the
Flowing Hair Dollar, contained 416 grains of "standard silver" (89.25%
silver and 10.75% copper), as specified by Section 13[44] of the
Coinage Act of 1792. It was designated by Section 9 of that Act as
having "the value of a Spanish milled dollar".
DollarDollar coins have not been very popular in the United States.[45]
Silver dollars were minted intermittently from 1794 through 1935; a
copper-nickel dollar of the same large size, featuring President
Dwight D. Eisenhower, was minted from 1971 through 1978. Gold dollars
were also minted in the 19th century. The
Susan B. Anthony dollarSusan B. Anthony dollar coin
was introduced in 1979; these proved to be unpopular because they were
often mistaken for quarters, due to their nearly equal size, their
milled edge, and their similar color. Minting of these dollars for
circulation was suspended in 1980 (collectors' pieces were struck in
1981), but, as with all past U.S. coins, they remain legal tender. As
the number of Anthony dollars held by the
Federal ReserveFederal Reserve and
dispensed primarily to make change in postal and transit vending
machines had been virtually exhausted, additional Anthony dollars were
struck in 1999. In 2000, a new $1 coin, featuring Sacagawea, (the
SacagaweaSacagawea dollar) was introduced, which corrected some of the problems
of the Anthony dollar by having a smooth edge and a gold color,
without requiring changes to vending machines that accept the Anthony
dollar. However, this new coin has failed to achieve the popularity of
the still-existing $1 bill and is rarely used in daily transactions.
The failure to simultaneously withdraw the dollar bill and weak
publicity efforts have been cited by coin proponents as primary
reasons for the failure of the dollar coin to gain popular
support.[46]
In February 2007, the U.S. Mint, under the Presidential $1 Coin Act of
2005,[47] introduced a new $1 U.S. Presidential dollar coin. Based on
the success of the "50 State Quarters" series, the new coin features a
sequence of presidents in order of their inaugurations, starting with
George Washington, on the obverse side. The reverse side features the
Statue of Liberty. To allow for larger, more detailed portraits, the
traditional inscriptions of "E Pluribus Unum", "In God We Trust", the
year of minting or issuance, and the mint mark will be inscribed on
the edge of the coin instead of the face. This feature, similar to the
edge inscriptions seen on the British £1 coin, is not usually
associated with U.S. coin designs. The inscription "Liberty" has been
eliminated, with the
Statue of LibertyStatue of Liberty serving as a sufficient
replacement. In addition, due to the nature of U.S. coins, this will
be the first time there will be circulating U.S. coins of different
denominations with the same president featured on the obverse (heads)
side (Lincoln/penny, Jefferson/nickel, Franklin D. Roosevelt/dime,
Washington/quarter, Kennedy/half dollar, and Eisenhower/dollar).
Another unusual fact about the new $1 coin is
Grover ClevelandGrover Cleveland will
have two coins with two different portraits issued due to the fact he
was the only U.S. President to be elected to two non-consecutive
terms.[48]
Early releases of the Washington coin included error coins shipped
primarily from the Philadelphia mint to Florida and Tennessee banks.
Highly sought after by collectors, and trading for as much as $850
each within a week of discovery, the error coins were identified by
the absence of the edge impressions "E PLURIBUS UNUM IN GOD WE TRUST
2007 P". The mint of origin is generally accepted to be mostly
Philadelphia, although identifying the source mint is impossible
without opening a mint pack also containing marked units. Edge
lettering is minted in both orientations with respect to "heads", some
amateur collectors were initially duped into buying "upside down
lettering error" coins.[49] Some cynics also erroneously point out
that the
Federal ReserveFederal Reserve makes more profit from dollar bills than
dollar coins because they wear out in a few years, whereas coins are
more permanent. The fallacy of this argument arises because new notes
printed to replace worn out notes, which have been withdrawn from
circulation, bring in no net revenue to the government to offset the
costs of printing new notes and destroying the old ones. As most
vending machines are incapable of making change in banknotes, they
commonly accept only $1 bills, though a few will give change in dollar
coins.
Mint marks[edit]

Mint
Mint mark
Metal minted
Year established
Current status

Denver
D
All metals
1906
Facility open

Philadelphia
P or none[a]
All metals
1792
Facility open

San Francisco
S
All metals
1854
Facility open (proof only)

West Point
W or none[b]
Gold, Silver and Platinum
1973
Facility open (bullion only)

^ The letter "P" is used for the Philadelphia mint mark on all coins
(except cents) released from 1980 onward. Before this it had only been
used on silver Jefferson nickels from 1942 to 1945.
^ Between 1973 and 1986 there was no mint mark (these coins are
indistinguishable from coins produced at the
Philadelphia MintPhiladelphia Mint from
1973 to 1980); after 1988 the letter "W" was used for coinage, except
for the 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle.
^ It is now the home of the Nevada State Museum, which still strikes
commemorative medallions with the "CC" mint mark (most recently in
2014 commemorating the Nevada Sesquicentennial), using former mint's
the original coin press.
^ Although the mint mark "D" has been used by two separate mints, it
is easy to distinguish between the two, as any 19th century
coinage is Dahlonega, and any 20th or 21st century coins are
Denver.
^ During the period in which this mint branch was operational, The
PhilippinesPhilippines was an insular territory and then commonwealth of the
U.S.; it was the first (and to date only) U.S. branch mint located
outside the Continental United States.
^ The letter "M" was used for the Manila mint mark on all coins
released from 1925 onward; before this it had produced its coins with
no mintmark.
^ During the Civil War, this mint operated under the control of the
State of
LouisianaLouisiana (February 1861) and the Confederate States of
America (March 1861) until it ran out of bullion later in that
year; some Half Dollars have been identified as being the issue of the
State of
LouisianaLouisiana and the Confederacy.

The U.S. Constitution provides that Congress shall have the power to
"borrow money on the credit of the United States".[51] Congress has
exercised that power by authorizing
Federal ReserveFederal Reserve Banks to issue
Federal ReserveFederal Reserve Notes. Those notes are "obligations of the United
States" and "shall be redeemed in lawful money on demand at the
Treasury Department of the United States, in the city of Washington,
District of Columbia, or at any
Federal ReserveFederal Reserve bank".[52] Federal
Reserve Notes are designated by law as "legal tender" for the payment
of debts.[53] Congress has also authorized the issuance of more than
10 other types of banknotes, including the
United StatesUnited States Note[54] and
the
Federal ReserveFederal Reserve Bank Note. The
Federal Reserve NoteFederal Reserve Note is the only
type that remains in circulation since the 1970s.
Currently printed denominations are $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, and
$100. Notes above the $100 denomination stopped being printed in 1946
and were officially withdrawn from circulation in 1969. These notes
were used primarily in inter-bank transactions or by organized crime;
it was the latter usage that prompted President
Richard NixonRichard Nixon to issue
an executive order in 1969 halting their use. With the advent of
electronic banking, they became less necessary. Notes in denominations
of $500, $1,000, $5,000, $10,000, and $100,000 were all produced at
one time; see large denomination bills in U.S. currency for details.
With the exception of the $100,000 bill (which was only issued as a
Series 1934 Gold Certificate and was never publicly circulated; thus
it is illegal to own), these notes are now collectors' items and are
worth more than their face value to collectors.
Though still predominantly green, post-2004 series incorporate other
colors to better distinguish different denominations. As a result of a
2008 decision in an accessibility lawsuit filed by the American
Council of the Blind, the
Bureau of Engraving and PrintingBureau of Engraving and Printing is planning
to implement a raised tactile feature in the next redesign of each
note, except the $1 and the current version of the $100 bill. It also
plans larger, higher-contrast numerals, more color differences, and
distribution of currency readers to assist the visually impaired
during the transition period.[55]
Means of issue[edit]
The monetary base consists of coins and
Federal ReserveFederal Reserve Notes in
circulation outside the
Federal ReserveFederal Reserve Banks and the U.S. Treasury,
plus deposits held by depository institutions at Federal Reserve
Banks. The adjusted monetary base has increased from approximately 400
billion dollars in 1994, to 800 billion in 2005, and over 3000 billion
in 2013.[56] The amount of cash in circulation is increased (or
decreased) by the actions of the
Federal ReserveFederal Reserve System. Eight times a
year, the 12-person
Federal Open Market CommitteeFederal Open Market Committee meets to determine
U.S. monetary policy.[57] Every business day, the Federal Reserve
System engages in
Open market operationsOpen market operations to carry out that monetary
policy.[58] If the
Federal ReserveFederal Reserve desires to increase the money
supply, it will buy securities (such as
U.S. TreasuryU.S. Treasury Bonds)
anonymously from banks in exchange for dollars. Conversely, it will
sell securities to the banks in exchange for dollars, to take dollars
out of circulation.[59]
When the
Federal ReserveFederal Reserve makes a purchase, it credits the seller's
reserve account (with the Federal Reserve). This money is not
transferred from any existing funds—it is at this point that the
Federal ReserveFederal Reserve has created new high-powered money. Commercial banks
can freely withdraw in cash any excess reserves from their reserve
account at the Federal Reserve. To fulfill those requests, the Federal
Reserve places an order for printed money from the U.S. Treasury
Department.[60] The Treasury Department in turn sends these requests
to the
Bureau of Engraving and PrintingBureau of Engraving and Printing (to print new dollar bills)
and the Bureau of the Mint (to stamp the coins).
Usually, the short-term goal of open market operations is to achieve a
specific short-term interest rate target. In other instances, monetary
policy might instead entail the targeting of a specific exchange rate
relative to some foreign currency or else relative to gold. For
example, in the case of the
United StatesUnited States the
Federal ReserveFederal Reserve targets
the federal funds rate, the rate at which member banks lend to one
another overnight. The other primary means of conducting monetary
policy include: (i)
Discount windowDiscount window lending (as lender of last
resort); (ii) Fractional deposit lending (changes in the reserve
requirement); (iii) Moral suasion (cajoling certain market players to
achieve specified outcomes); (iv) "Open mouth operations" (talking
monetary policy with the market).
Value[edit]

Buying power of one U.S. dollar compared to 1774 USD

Year
Equivalent buying power

1774
$1.00

1780
$0.59

1790
$0.89

1800
$0.64

1810
$0.66

1820
$0.69

1830
$0.88

1840
$0.94

1850
$1.03

1860
$0.97

Year
Equivalent buying power

1870
$0.62

1880
$0.79

1890
$0.89

1900
$0.96

1910
$0.85

1920
$0.39

1930
$0.47

1940
$0.56

1950
$0.33

1960
$0.26

Year
Equivalent buying power

1970
$0.20

1980
$0.10

1990
$0.06

2000
$0.05

2007
$0.04

2008
$0.04

2009
$0.04

2010
$0.035

2011
$0.034

2012
$0.03

U.S. Consumer Price Index, starting from 1913

The 6th paragraph of Section 8 of Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution
provides that the U.S. Congress shall have the power to "coin money"
and to "regulate the value" of domestic and foreign coins. Congress
exercised those powers when it enacted the Coinage Act of 1792. That
Act provided for the minting of the first U.S. dollar and it declared
that the U.S. dollar shall have "the value of a Spanish milled dollar
as the same is now current".[61]
The table to the right shows the equivalent amount of goods that, in a
particular year, could be purchased with $1. The table shows that from
1774 through 2012 the U.S. dollar has lost about 97.0% of its buying
power.[62]
The decline in the value of the U.S. dollar corresponds to price
inflation, which is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and
services in an economy over a period of time.[63] A consumer price
index (CPI) is a measure estimating the average price of consumer
goods and services purchased by households. The
United StatesUnited States Consumer
Price Index, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is a measure
estimating the average price of consumer goods and services in the
United States.[64] It reflects inflation as experienced by consumers
in their day-to-day living expenses.[65] A graph showing the U.S. CPI
relative to 1982–1984 and the annual year-over-year change in CPI is
shown at right.
The value of the U.S. dollar declined significantly during wartime,
especially during the American Civil War, World War I, and World War
II.[66] The Federal Reserve, which was established in 1913, was
designed to furnish an "elastic" currency subject to "substantial
changes of quantity over short periods", which differed significantly
from previous forms of high-powered money such as gold, national bank
notes, and silver coins.[67] Over the very long run, the prior gold
standard kept prices stable—for instance, the price level and the
value of the U.S. dollar in 1914 was not very different from the price
level in the 1880s. The
Federal ReserveFederal Reserve initially succeeded in
maintaining the value of the U.S. dollar and price stability,
reversing the inflation caused by the First World War and stabilizing
the value of the dollar during the 1920s, before presiding over a 30%
deflation in U.S. prices in the 1930s.[68]
Under the
Bretton Woods systemBretton Woods system established after World War II, the
value of gold was fixed to $35 per ounce, and the value of the U.S.
dollar was thus anchored to the value of gold. Rising government
spending in the 1960s, however, led to doubts about the ability of the
United StatesUnited States to maintain this convertibility, gold stocks dwindled as
banks and international investors began to convert dollars to gold,
and as a result the value of the dollar began to decline. Facing an
emerging currency crisis and the imminent danger that the United
States would no longer be able to redeem dollars for gold, gold
convertibility was finally terminated in 1971 by President Nixon,
resulting in the "Nixon shock".[69]
The value of the U.S. dollar was therefore no longer anchored to gold,
and it fell upon the
Federal ReserveFederal Reserve to maintain the value of the U.S.
currency. The Federal Reserve, however, continued to increase the
money supply, resulting in stagflation and a rapidly declining value
of the U.S. dollar in the 1970s. This was largely due to the
prevailing economic view at the time that inflation and real economic
growth were linked (the Phillips curve), and so inflation was regarded
as relatively benign.[69] Between 1965 and 1981, the U.S. dollar lost
two thirds of its value.[62]
In 1979, President Carter appointed
Paul VolckerPaul Volcker Chairman of the
Federal Reserve. The
Federal ReserveFederal Reserve tightened the money supply and
inflation was substantially lower in the 1980s, and hence the value of
the U.S. dollar stabilized.[69]
Over the thirty-year period from 1981 to 2009, the U.S. dollar lost
over half its value.[62] This is because the
Federal ReserveFederal Reserve has
targeted not zero inflation, but a low, stable rate of
inflation—between 1987 and 1997, the rate of inflation was
approximately 3.5%, and between 1997 and 2007 it was approximately 2%.
The so-called "Great Moderation" of economic conditions since the
1970s is credited to monetary policy targeting price stability.[70]
There is ongoing debate about whether central banks should target zero
inflation (which would mean a constant value for the U.S. dollar over
time) or low, stable inflation (which would mean a continuously but
slowly declining value of the dollar over time, as is the case now).
Although some economists are in favor of a zero inflation policy and
therefore a constant value for the U.S. dollar,[68] others contend
that such a policy limits the ability of the central bank to control
interest rates and stimulate the economy when needed.[71]
Exchange rates[edit]
Historical exchange rates[edit]

Definitions from Wiktionary
Media from Wikimedia Commons
News from Wikinews
Quotations from Wikiquote
Texts from Wikisource
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Learning resources from Wikiversity

U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing
U.S.
CurrencyCurrency and Coin Outstanding and in Circulation
U.S.
CurrencyCurrency Education Program page with images of all current
banknotes
American
CurrencyCurrency Exhibit at the San Francisco
Federal ReserveFederal Reserve Bank
Relative values of the U.S. dollar, from 1774 to present
Historical
CurrencyCurrency Converter
Summary of BEP Production Statistics
U.S.
CurrencyCurrency tracking experiment
50 Factors that Affect the Value of the U.S. Dollar – Currency
Trading.net
Askar Akaev forecasts the collapse of U.S. dollar in December 2012
Live exchange rates
CurrencyCurrency exchange rates updated every 60 seconds

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